I just signed up. The system could not verify my identity. So I had to go to the post office with a bar code. There were two ladies there. One of them had no idea what I was talking about but the other lady did.

As you wrote, I have not received any email from the USPS today and there is no mail listed in my online account. I will wait for a few days.

Victoria

Victoria,

FYI - When I signed up in August, I hadn't received an email at first either. I actually printed out the screen where I *thought* I had enrolled in in-person verification and took it to the Post Office. The USPS staff quickly informed me that I was supposed to have received an email with a bar code for them to scan. I returned home and, perplexed, found no email from USPS.

Then I logged back in to USPS.com and re-traced my steps for enrolling in in-person verification. It turns out that last screen required me to scroll down several screens to locate a "Continue" button. Once I hit that, I received the USPS email with barcode in minutes. If I remember correctly, the reason for the long space above the Continue button was that USPS was listing all the post offices within a certain number of miles of my address, and because I live in a heavily populated area, the list took several screens.

I have checked my USPS online account. It turns out that I, too, have to perform another action, but it's quite different from yours.

When I go to my USPS account Profile, then to Preferences, and scrawl down to Informed Delivery -- I see my Informed Delivery Status as follows:
You have a valid address - Checked
Your ZIP Code is eligible - Checked
Your identity has been successfully verified - Checked

Below, there is a link with a title "Click here if you received a validation code in the mail"

I did not pay attention to that link before. Now, it appears that I will receive a code in a USPS mail and will have to input it electronically. My take-aways:
1. USPS subscription processes vary widely.
2. Validation via paper mail to my address of record is a more secure process than just sending me email with images.

Victoria

UPDATE:

Today I have received my first email from the USPS with scanned images from Informed Delivery. Here are some comments:
1. Even though there is a link in my account to click, if I had received a code in paper mail--I have not received a letter with a code (yet), and still I started receiving email with mail images.
2. Thus, the USPS authentication of applicants is weak, as we discussed.
3. The Informed Delivery message shows scanned images of my mail, and the size of the message is small. If I were not checking my messages for several weeks, it would not break my email inbox.
4. The message offers me to click on a link "View all mail on Dashboard" to see all today's mail, including some possibly not listed in the email. This is a security hole! One should not click on links received in email, however realistic they look.
5. Upon visiting my USPS account, I saw that there is a package coming in. There was no image of the mailing label, only the name of the sender and some codes.

Victoria

WINNER of the 2015 Boglehead Contest. |
Every joke has a bit of a joke. ... The rest is the truth. (Marat F)

I attempted to sign up and got a failed identity verification message. I answered all questions correctly so perhaps the post office doesn't know me as well as they think they do.

Did they give you the option to go to the post office for an in-person verification?

Yes - it did say something about going to a local post office but it also said I could try online again in 72 hours - so will try again (rather than answer the questions honestly I need to better think about what info they have on file for me. It reminds me of the CRA verification questions - one said "which of the following vehicles have you owned" which really should have stated "which of the vehicles have you taken out a loan on" as they didn't know about all vehicles I owned).

I signed up 2 days ago. Today I got an email at 7:49 AM with pdfs of 2 letters. If that is all Ihave, that will be great, as these 2 are unimportant and I can now determine when to head to the mailbox.

Some time ago, I signed up for a rarely-used, pretty much forgotten account at USPS.com to order stamps. Bad move, in hindsight. After reading a bit on this subject on Krebs Security, I looked back over there.... and found that my old account has Informed Delivery whether I wanted it or not. And I am not at all sure any bozo could create yet another account and look at all my mail. I should just tape it to the front door.....

Generally I've liked this ... get to see what's coming in the mail, usually junk mail. Today I found out one downside ... I got the email and it shows an official looking document from IRS is coming. Then you spend the next few hours racking your brain for what it could be ... and envisioning the worst, of course!
(In this case, it was nothing important.... whew!)

Generally I've liked this ... get to see what's coming in the mail, usually junk mail. Today I found out one downside ... I got the email and it shows an official looking document from IRS is coming. Then you spend the next few hours racking your brain for what it could be ... and envisioning the worst, of course!
(In this case, it was nothing important.... whew!)

You're lucky that IRS letter showed up that same day. A couple of times I've gotten USPS emails that indicated a particular mailpiece (nothing from the IRS, fortunately) would be arriving that afternoon, but the letter didn't show up until the following afternoon. Imagine having to sleep with the knowledge that you'd probably be getting a letter from the IRS the following day, and "racking your brain for what it could be"...

catdude |
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"I yield to the gentleman for a few feeble remarks." (Congressman Thaddeus Stevens)

Seems to me that if the system can't accurately predict when the mail is arriving, it's of limited value. So all the people saying they're using this to decide whether to trek down to the mailbox, how's that working for you? Do you find the mail you expect based on email alerts received?

I tried it for a few weeks and shut it down. It was inaccurate and caused me headaches worrying about lost mail which eventually showed up 2-3 days later. For me, time is too precious to spend it on such activities which are more of a gimmick than being helpful.

I tried it for a few weeks and shut it down. It was inaccurate and caused me headaches worrying about lost mail which eventually showed up 2-3 days later. For me, time is too precious to spend it on such activities which are more of a gimmick than being helpful.

I tried it for a few weeks and shut it down. It was inaccurate and caused me headaches worrying about lost mail which eventually showed up 2-3 days later. For me, time is too precious to spend it on such activities which are more of a gimmick than being helpful.

It's not available in my zip code, but I'm thinking I may not sign up even when it is available, based on these last few posts.

"The course of history shows that as the government grows, liberty decreases." Thomas Jefferson

I signed up because our mail delivery is erratic. I've already identified two letters that simply never arrived (it's been over a month).

It's been useful to know when I need to make a call to inform a mailer of lost/stolen mail. I'm thrilled to know someone will be surprised to learn their $50 certificate has been voided.

Informed delivery also has a checkbox to notify USPS of lost mail when signed in.

Ok, good response. I can certainly see the value in that. Although I really haven't experienced any lost mail that I know of.

My experience is the button for missing mail does nothing. I never heard back from anybody, so I went to the post office. After explaining what Informed Delivery email was to the postal clerk, I was told that my letter carrier "probably" returned the mailed piece because it had a different name on the letter and he knows what names should be coming to our address. I figured the mail carrier just saw that it was a birthday card with money in it and pocketed it. But, about a month later I find out that it was indeed returned to sender.

So, I guess just because it shows up in your informed delivery email doesn't necessarily mean you're going to get it.

Here's my feed back after many days. This is unbelievable and accurate. . Love this Victoria whoever she is and I thank her for posting it. I now can decide whether to go to the mailbox or if it can wait till the next day. This has been totally accurate. And to make it even better, yesterday I orderd something on Amazon and they indicated it would be by USPS and that shows on this website and app.

The mail shown in yesterday's email arrived today. The mail shown in today's email will probably arrive tomorrow. Earlier, mail was arriving the same day. So, sometimes it is accurate, and sometimes the mail is delayed.

After failing the security part of the verification process and waiting 72 hours and trying and failing again, I'm convinced that USPS doesn't know the correct answers to my ID verification questions. Yes, I know how much my home sold for, what year it was built, what counties I've lived in, old phone numbers, etc. But USPS says I am wrong and wants me to go in person to the office to verify who I say I am. And even though the main post office for my town is yards from my house, they want to send me 10 miles away to do so. All this for a service of rather dubious value.

Following up on this thread. So much negativity towards the postal service for implementing this system which really is a significant advancement in mail delivery.

For the record, the email I receive for multiple addresses has the following disclaimer:

"Mailpieces may arrive several days after you receive the notification. Please allow up to a week for delivery before reporting missing mail.Report missing mail red arrow

*These images represent mail pieces that are sorted on USPS® automated equipment. Some of your mail may not be shown here."

It's been working just fine for us.

Also for those that don't think mail theft is a reality, got an email from a past residential development we lived at noting that there was another large theft of the centralized neighborhood mailboxes. A very decent neighborhood.

After failing the security part of the verification process and waiting 72 hours and trying and failing again, I'm convinced that USPS doesn't know the correct answers to my ID verification questions. Yes, I know how much my home sold for, what year it was built, what counties I've lived in, old phone numbers, etc. But USPS says I am wrong and wants me to go in person to the office to verify who I say I am. And even though the main post office for my town is yards from my house, they want to send me 10 miles away to do so. All this for a service of rather dubious value.

Pass.

I just hit the ID-Verification failure a second time as well. They even had me verify the last 4 digits of my SSN (which I'm sure I did right). Obviously there is something wrong on their side. Since 99% of my mail is junk I guess I'll simply pass on this and move on (I thought it would be nice to have in case I ever do get official mail - I know IRS, etc. still uses the US-Mail for correspondence - I wish they wouldn't given all the issues with delivery).

After failing the security part of the verification process and waiting 72 hours and trying and failing again, I'm convinced that USPS doesn't know the correct answers to my ID verification questions. Yes, I know how much my home sold for, what year it was built, what counties I've lived in, old phone numbers, etc. But USPS says I am wrong and wants me to go in person to the office to verify who I say I am. And even though the main post office for my town is yards from my house, they want to send me 10 miles away to do so. All this for a service of rather dubious value.

Pass.

I just hit the ID-Verification failure a second time as well. They even had me verify the last 4 digits of my SSN (which I'm sure I did right). Obviously there is something wrong on their side. Since 99% of my mail is junk I guess I'll simply pass on this and move on (I thought it would be nice to have in case I ever do get official mail - I know IRS, etc. still uses the US-Mail for correspondence - I wish they wouldn't given all the issues with delivery).

I'm kinda surprised to hear how much trouble some people are having with this service considering how painless it was for me.

I too failed the authentication twice, the second time after the 72 hour wait. Immediately after that failure, I selected the "Opt In (person) at the local post office" option. Then, after getting my bar code to take to the post office for the in-person verification, I noticed that there was a button to "try again" (online). So I figured, what the heck? Wouldn't you know, the online authentication worked like a charm. Nothing magical about the third set of questions that I recall, similar street, city, county, etc. stuff.

The U.S. Postal Service has a new service that I'm finding to be quite handy. A few months ago I signed up for "informed delivery". (I think it's still in beta test mode). Each morning I get an email showing me scanned images of my snail mail to be delivered that day.

Sorry if this has been answered, did not want to reread this entire thread.

what does this COST? do you have to sign up for this?

I ask as USPS has sent me 2 emails with a code to sign up for this (code expires 10/31). I am assuming there is some kind of cost involved so have avoided signing up.

Not sure I want yet another email to read each day either. 90% of my mail is junk mail. Do they send pictures of that too?

The U.S. Postal Service has a new service that I'm finding to be quite handy. A few months ago I signed up for "informed delivery". (I think it's still in beta test mode). Each morning I get an email showing me scanned images of my snail mail to be delivered that day.

Sorry if this has been answered, did not want to reread this entire thread.

what does this COST? do you have to sign up for this?

I ask as USPS has sent me 2 emails with a code to sign up for this (code expires 10/31). I am assuming there is some kind of cost involved so have avoided signing up.

Not sure I want yet another email to read each day either. 90% of my mail is junk mail. Do they send pictures of that too?

Thanks.

The service is free. They take a picture of every item addressed to you as far as I can tell. They don't take a picture of coupon mailers and such that are addressed to no one.

Not sure I want yet another email to read each day either. 90% of my mail is junk mail. Do they send pictures of that too?

I don't get an email from USPS every day as I get all of my statements and such by email. Also, I opted out of the pre-approved offers and junk mail as much as possible. If your mailbox is swamped with unwanted mail most days, this probably won't be a very helpful tool for you. However, if most of your mail is legitimate I think Informed Delivery can be a useful alert as to what mail you should be receiving soon.

Generally I've liked this ... get to see what's coming in the mail, usually junk mail. Today I found out one downside ... I got the email and it shows an official looking document from IRS is coming. Then you spend the next few hours racking your brain for what it could be ... and envisioning the worst, of course!
(In this case, it was nothing important.... whew!)

Omg I was going to post the exact same thing! I saw letter from IRS to me and one to my wife. I thought oh crikey I’ve been selected an audit. I’ve puttered around here all day worried I’m getting audited. Turns out it was a notification I registered for the IRS site about a week ago.

I’ve been getting this for a few weeks and find it useful. Last week I could see that a $1000 rebate card was coming in so I made sure to get mail ASAP.

The first time I signed up I failed to do something to activate the account. I later did it again and it has worked flawlessly.

Not sure I want yet another email to read each day either. 90% of my mail is junk mail. Do they send pictures of that too?

I don't get an email from USPS every day as I get all of my statements and such by email. Also, I opted out of the pre-approved offers and junk mail as much as possible. If your mailbox is swamped with unwanted mail most days, this probably won't be a very helpful tool for you. However, if most of your mail is legitimate I think Informed Delivery can be a useful alert as to what mail you should be receiving soon.

Have opted out too, but (like many) I still get a bunch of junk mail.

This would be useful when moving, to ensure something didn't get lost etc.

I was signed up for this when the service started a few months ago. I don't recall actually signing up or going through a verification process, but somehow I started getting the emails. I find it interesting to see the mail while I'm at work, and it's usually pretty accurate for that day (although once or twice the mail comes the following day), but I haven't found much practical use yet. I think it would be helpful if I were traveling out of town for an extended trip, or monitoring mail for an elderly relative and checking for signs of solicitation scams.

A free new service from the U.S. Postal Service that provides scanned images of incoming mail before it is slated to arrive at its destination address is raising eyebrows among security experts who worry about the service’s potential for misuse by private investigators, identity thieves, stalkers or abusive ex-partners. The USPS says it hopes to have changes in place by early next year that could help blunt some of those concerns.

...a review of the methods used by the USPS to validate new account signups suggests the service is wide open to abuse by a range of parties, mainly because of weak authentication and because it is not easy to opt out of the service.

Signing up requires an eligible resident to create a free user account at USPS.com, which asks for the resident’s name, address and an email address. The final step in validating residents involves answering four so-called “knowledge-based authentication” or KBA questions. KrebsOnSecurity has relentlessly assailed KBA as an unreliable authentication method because so many answers to the multiple-guess questions are available on sites like Spokeo and Zillow, or via social networking profiles.

When I first signed up for informed delivery I was getting the emails every day at about 8 AM which was pefect timing. Then I started getting them at 10 AM. Now they're coming in the afternoon, yesterday it was at about 3 PM, not long before the actual delivery!

When I first signed up for informed delivery I was getting the emails every day at about 8 AM which was pefect timing. Then I started getting them at 10 AM. Now they're coming in the afternoon, yesterday it was at about 3 PM, not long before the actual delivery!

I just searched for this thread to post pretty much exactly the same thing. Email arrived at 3pm today. Not a huge deal since it matters little whether I know at 8am or 3pm what will hopefully be in the mailbox at 4pm, but interesting to see what I am not the only one observing this change.

When I first signed up for informed delivery I was getting the emails every day at about 8 AM which was pefect timing. Then I started getting them at 10 AM. Now they're coming in the afternoon, yesterday it was at about 3 PM, not long before the actual delivery!

You do not have to go to the email. Simply go to their website and look!

When I first signed up for informed delivery I was getting the emails every day at about 8 AM which was pefect timing. Then I started getting them at 10 AM. Now they're coming in the afternoon, yesterday it was at about 3 PM, not long before the actual delivery!

I just searched for this thread to post pretty much exactly the same thing. Email arrived at 3pm today. Not a huge deal since it matters little whether I know at 8am or 3pm what will hopefully be in the mailbox at 4pm, but interesting to see what I am not the only one observing this change.

It's been happening to me too. I now get the emails in mid-afternoon.

catdude |
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"I yield to the gentleman for a few feeble remarks." (Congressman Thaddeus Stevens)

A friend, who recently lost a job, was expecting a distribution check from a retirement account. A big one, six figures.

He has been waiting for this for a month. Since he currently has no income at all, this check is important to him.
Somehow, the company left off part of his street name and even though he got the image from the post office, the actual check was returned to the sender. Having the image allowed him to contact the company right away and they are sending a replacement check by FedEx.

When I first signed up for informed delivery I was getting the emails every day at about 8 AM which was pefect timing. Then I started getting them at 10 AM. Now they're coming in the afternoon, yesterday it was at about 3 PM, not long before the actual delivery!

You do not have to go to the email. Simply go to their website and look!

The website has been getting latter to update also. Yesterday the website finally updated around 12:30 PM and the email came around 3:30PM.

When I first signed up for informed delivery I was getting the emails every day at about 8 AM which was pefect timing. Then I started getting them at 10 AM. Now they're coming in the afternoon, yesterday it was at about 3 PM, not long before the actual delivery!

You do not have to go to the email. Simply go to their website and look!

Ok, this works, thanks. I just went there and saw today's mail, but still no email notification as of this writing. But the website is slow and it's a pain to have to log in. I'll probably only do this when I'm expecting something important as 95% of my US mail is junk. (About 99% of my email is also junk but that is off-topic)

After using this service for a month or so, I really like it. Some days I just let the mail set in the box until the next day because I know it is just junk. Only once did I not receive a piece of mail shown. I checked the box to report it was not received, but I did not receive any communication on the missing item. It did show up about 3 days later. It was a check so I was a little concerned.

I hope they can improve this to the point where they can provide a view of all the mail you will receive for an entire week. For example, on Monday morning, I would like to see what is coming each day during the week. That would be really nice!

I hope they can improve this to the point where they can provide a view of all the mail you will receive for an entire week. For example, on Monday morning, I would like to see what is coming each day during the week. That would be really nice!

Also would require the use of a time machine

My desired improvement would be scanning of everything that ends up in the mailbox, not just those items that fit their currently limited size restrictions. Especially for small packages it would be very useful to know that they are sitting in the box.